adults who were murdered here in newtown, connecticut, on friday morning. >> i now ask that the united states senate observe a moment of silence for the victims of the sandy hook elementary school tragedy. >> but united states senators are not being silent now about gun control. they are already taking up the challenge. president obama issued when he spoke to the grieving newtown community here last night. >> we can't tolerate this anymore. these tragedies must end, and to end them we must change. we will be told that the causes of such violence are complex and that is true. no single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction. surely we can do better than this. in the coming weeks i'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this because what choice do we have? we can't accept events like this as routine. are we really pre